I received a short statement from LoTW about FT8 Mode contacts in regard to the uploading to LoTW:

"We have been inundated with emails about FT8. We were told that it will be a few weeks before the developers can get LoTW set up to accept FT8."

So please stand by, LoTW are aware that this work needs to be done before FT8 QSOs can be uploaded to the LoTW databse. Thank you for your patience.UPDATE 14/08/2017 - All FT8 QSOs have now been uploaded to LoTW

Getting your QSL cards to your destination can be a challenge, in fact there are many reasons why letters may not arrive. It is easy to assume that the letter has been stolen by an unscrupulous thief at the Post Office, but as a postal worker myself and being an account holder of our own International Online Business Account with the Royal Mail, I have seen numerous times how things can go wrong, no matter how hard we try, and sometimes people will just believe that either the letter was stolen or simply the QSL manager kept the dollars and didn’t send the QSL card.

So what really can go wrong? Over the past five years we have seen many global incidents, flooding, snow storms, hurricanes, war are just a few of the examples. In 2014, Venezuela suspended International Mail deliveries in a currency row, this led to a period of time where QSL cards in and out of Venezuela just seemed to disappear, it was easier for everyone to blame the DXpedition teams for stealing dollars, and bad QSL management than actually look at the real reason why the mail did not get through.

Also in 2014 the world’s postal administrations were advised that they should no longer dispatch international mail addressed to the Crimea region via Ukrainian Post. The Universal Postal Union passed on a message from the national postal service of the Ukraine confirming that it had difficulties delivering postal items to locations in the Crimea and the city of Sevastopol following the annexation of the area by the Russian Federation. Many QSL cards in and out of that area were returned unable to find a route until Russia took over control of the post for that region. An extra digit “2” was put in front of the post code and the country name changed to Russian Federation, now hopefully that situation is resolved.

It is not only war and financial crisis that can cripple the post getting through, not many would realise but few letters are actually handled by postal workers these days, most are machine sorted and this can create a whole new set of complications. For some years letters to the U.S.A. have been endorsed “Unable to forward, Return to sender” I have personally tried numerous times to get to the bottom of this one, sadly USPS is an organisation that is not public facing and it is simply impossible to get someone internally to help. But it appears that if the address on the letter is not formatted correctly, even if the address is exactly correct then the sorting machine automatically puts a yellow sticker on the letter and returns it to sender, simply because the machine cannot see the route in the format it was programmed to see. The correct way the USPS should be working is to forward these letters for hand sorting, but in many cases the letters are just returned.

On a similar theme, sorting machines in the Japanese postal service quite often reject international mail that has the address only written in Japanese characters. On our own OQRS we now only accept all addresses in English characters to avoid this problem of mail to Japan being returned. But this then can be an issue to those of you using keyboards with foreign characters.

Our bureau QSL cards are starting their journey to the world IARU Bureaus, the route will take them directly to Heathrow Worldwide Distribution Centre where they will be put on the next available flight to each destination.

GS0NWM Isle of Mull Log Update - Due to on site network issues some QSOs that were not recovered until the return home have now been synced to the Log Search / OQRS. All QSOs from this update were also uploaded to LoTW.We have revised the Missing call forms that we received and notified the recipients.

The Tynemouth club is once again travelling to the Scottish Islands for a week of IOTA fun. This year we have decided to go to the Isle of Mull. We are taking 4 operators and a dog! It is our intention to work as many other amateurs around the world and confirm the Isle of Mull on as many bands and modes as possible.

​This year we are also hoping to operate on some of the WSPR modes as well as VHF & UHF.

The UK QSL managers continue to deal with large volumes of outgoing QSL cards both direct letters and bureau parcels to all the IARU Bureaus. This is a summary of the postage for the year 01/04/2016 to 31/03/2017.Direct items are slightly down by -1.3% on last year.An increased postal cost of +4.45% on last year which is mainly due to our increased Bureau work over the last year along with an adjustment of exchange rate against the US dollar.Our Bureau outgoing volume is counted from 01/01/2016 - 31/12/2016 at 58,512 bureau cards up 45.3% on 2015.There are currently 2,131,698 QSOs in the OQRS database in which you can make QSL requests.

Are you about to embark on a new DXpedition project? Or a holiday station or maybe you are going to be or are operating from a place that demads high QSL traffic?

United Radio QSL Bureau is here to look after all your QSL management needs.

What can I provide?1) I can look after all your QSL requirements from Holiday station, IOTA to major expedition status.2) I handle RSGB Incoming Bureau, Direct QSLing, LoTW, OQRS and Direct Via Paypal.3) Professional QSL design & printing by ON5UR Max to ensure the highest quality QSL cards.4) For DX'peditions I can offer free QSL cards if you use my QSL services. Contact me for more information5) United Radio QSL Bureau runs its own OUTGOING QSL Bureau. Available for ANYONE to use. (60p per 6) For QSL managers and DX Teams we can provide access to the most competitive postal rates in the industry.

United Radio QSL Bureau together with ON5UR Maxi-Print can provide your DXpedition with a one stop QSL service that has the highest reputation in the Amateur Radio community.

Firstly I can offer FREE high quality QSL printing for ALL MAJOR DXpedition Teams and also FREE high quality QSL printing to SOME holiday and IOTA stations using my service where $ contributions have been enclosed. Our QSL service will give YOU"attention to detail".

TX5T Austral Islands QSL card has been deisgned and is now in the print room. I expect to post all direct QSL cards on April 1st. You can still request your TX5T QSL on OQRS for a fast return.Please remember do not send us your card through the Bureau USE OQRS ONLY.

We receive many emails about our QSL work, thank you for all positive comments that is really appreciated. It is clear though that for some, OQRS (Online QSL Request System) is a bit of a mystery and need a little help, so here are some of your questions answered.

Q. I thought there was only one OQRS?A. Many of you will be familiar with Club Log OQRS which is the most widely used OQRS. But there are many QSL managers and DXpedition teams that have their own OQRS on the web too.

Q. Why don’t we all use Club Log OQRS?A. DXpeditions have many varied requirements for their QSL work, so do many DX chasers, so Club Log can’t please everyone all of the time. With many clients around the world, I would need access to about 100 different Club Log accounts to do my QSL work so this is why I have my own OQRS, all the logs that I am QSL manager for, on one account. (I also support Club Log 100%)

Q. Do I need to send you my QSL?A. No No No, that is the whole idea of OQRS. For DXpeditions they do not need ANY incoming QSL cards, especially through the incoming Bureau that just creates extra work and huge costs for everyone. “Request it Don’t Send It USE OQRS” Then update your log to tell you no outgoing QSL was needed.

Q. My call sign is not in log how can I get this corrected?A. On our OQRS Log Search you will see a “Busted / Missing Call Request form” Fill in that form and it will be sent to my work queue and I will reply to you directly. Please do not email me! ALWAYS check the “Last QSO in log date / time” The log may be waiting a log update!

Q. How do I pay for my QSL?A. OQRS is fully integrated with PayPal you can see exactly how much the QSL will cost you in your own currency on the PayPal page. PayPal also allows Credit Card payment and payment transfers from your bank account.

Q. How do I know that you have sent my direct / bureau QSL?A. When you use Log search and click “Request QSL” you will see the progress status of your request this may be “In Queue” or “Buro Sent” or “Direct Sent” OQRS Requested. Here you will also see the LoTW status.If you see "Buro QSL Sent" Please DO NOT request another.

Q. When requesting a QSL what is the “QSL Via” box for?A. Only use this if you have a QSL manager and want your bureau QSL sent to your manager. It is NOT for your email address, or for greetings and NEVER put M0URX or your QSL will be sent to me.DARC members can put the DOK number here.

Q. What if i have lost my QSO details? can you help?A. No! Sorry i do not give out QSO details. You must back up your log regularly by ADIF on and off site. You should set up an account with CLUB LOG and upload your logs. That can be a one of your back ups so if you have a HDD crash then you will have not lost any data. There is now no excuse for you to lose your log!

Q. When will my QSL be posted?A. If you are requesting a recent DXpedition QSL, remember please that QSL cards have to be designed, photographs need to be chosen, logos in high resolution sought, it can take some time to get everything in place. Printing usually takes 5 days then the QSL cards need to be shipped to the QSL manager.If the QSL cards are in stock with your QSL manager, then posting can be a weekly process, or sometimes quicker if there is a sizeable mailing ready.

With computers well entrenched in DXing and amateur radio in general the underappreciated QSL managers that work in the background are the recipients of thousands of e-mails (mostly all inquiring - sometimes complaining - about one or more missing QSOs), an untold number of snail mail pieces containing even more snail mail pieces, currency, IRCs, postage stamps and one or more QSL cards, even some with QSL cards for multiple DX stations or DX operators. This avalanche of paper is time consuming and labor intensive, sometimes requiring teams of volunteers to process. Add to this the hundreds of DX logs (in various formats), millions of DX contacts, donor lists, and consolidated DX club log submissions, all of which require accurate accounting and more importantly preservation.

QSL managers use different methods to recover their operating costs which include items such as toner, labels, envelopes, and sometimes pizza lunches for the volunteer teams. Some managers personally absorb the cost while others pass the cost to the DX-pedition.

In late 2014 Pista HA5AO and Gene K5GS began discussing an OQRS / QSL management platform specifically for the QSL managers that handle our projects. While Michael Wells G7VJR ClubLog is an outstanding application which made significant positive contributions to the hobby and introduced many new concepts in confirming contacts, we were looking for something that addressed the backend QSL management processes. The complexities of handling tens of thousands of QSL cards, e-mails, Not in Log / busted calls requests, returned postal mail pieces and a host of other tasks which were done manually for so many years needed to change.

We began by collecting requirements and creating detailed process flowcharts. Pista coded the application and we soon had a skeleton platform that offered some flexibility as well as functionality. The usual and familiar DX Log Search and OQRS functions were delivered in Phase 1.

After a number of enhancements and tests we switched it on for the 2015 TX3X DX-pedition. Of course, no amount of testing will uncover every bug. We learned what users expect and how they use OQRS software. Realizing we needed input from people with more experience than either of us in handing large volumes of confirmation requests we contacted Tim Beaumont M0URX (who previously handled cards for us) and his QSL Manager partner Charles Wilmott M0OXO. After e-mails and Skype conference calls we had a comprehensive list of process steps, additional requirements and a written agreement on how to proceed. As the new requirements were sorted, prioritized and coded each was tested by the team.

The CanAm DX Group will be operating as TX5T, for its upcoming trip to the Austral Islands, Raivavae Island IOTA Ref OC-114 February 20 - March 3, 2017.

Operators VA7DX Neil, VE7KW Keith, W5MJ Madison & W5RF Robert plan to use KIO Hex beams and Spiderpole verticals for 160-6 Meters on CW, SSB and digital modes. The team will be using Elecraft K3s and amplifiers to be able to work antipodal into Western Europe, where FO/A is rare.

Please do not send us any bureau cards as they are not required. OQRS is fast and free! Thank you

Busted / Missing calls should be directed to the OQRS link above where you will find the "Busted / Missing Call" form, just enter your data and I will check the log. Please do not email me. USE OQRS for your inquiries. Thank you. Corrected log entries will automatically be uploaded to LoTW on the next upload.